


An Easy Answer

by vials



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: M/M, these two just bring it out in me, this is probably the sappiest thing I've ever written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-28 07:22:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7630543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vials/pseuds/vials
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James has some apparently broken equipment and a question Q never saw coming but always knew the answer to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Easy Answer

Q was busy, as usual. It was luckily the kind of busy where he could sit at his desk and type rather than run around from lab to lab, which was a blessing when he was being kept this late. He hadn’t noticed the labs emptying out around him, and if he registered the silence it was only to think about how nice it was for his concentration. He was beginning to catch up to where he needed to be by the time he heard the footsteps; glancing up, he saw it was James walking towards him, looking almost like a schoolboy about to get a scolding.

“I see you’re back,” Q said, pushing his glasses up his nose as James approached the desk. “And it looks like you have something to tell me.”

James smiled. “Whatever gives you that impression?”

“Well,” Q said, leaning back in his seat. “Perhaps it’s the fact that you look almost guilty. Tell me, what did you break this time?”

“You can be so accusing sometimes, Q.”

“I’m sure. Come on, fess up. What’s that behind your back?”

Almost bashfully, James revealed what he was holding behind him. Q was initially dismayed to see what it was – a prototype, of course, of an incredibly advanced pair of surveillance binoculars with a range that had previously been thought impossible _and_ water efficient heat detection – but his annoyance shifted into confusion when he took a closer look at it.

“It doesn’t look damaged at all,” he said, reaching out and gently taking it from James’s hands. For something that had been out on the field with _James_ , it looked positively wonderful. A few scratches here and there that were probably standard field knocks, but nothing had blown up or smashed or been shot.

“Well,” James said. “I think the damage is inside. If you look through the view, you can see there’s a problem.”

Q raised an eyebrow, looking briefly at James before turning back to the binoculars. He couldn’t quite work out what seemed so _wrong_ , but something about James’s behaviour wasn’t normal. If Q didn’t think it was impossible, he would say the man seemed nervous.

Looking through the binoculars, Q could immediately see what James meant. In the left view there was an odd circular pattern, like one of the lenses had been damaged.

“It looks like a problem with one of the interior lenses,” Q said, adjusting various things on the side as he tried to focus on what it was. No matter what he did, it didn’t sharpen. “How did you manage that? Did you drop it?”

“Might have landed on it,” James said. “It’s pretty sturdy, though. I can see you’re starting to design things specifically for me.”

Q snorted. “It’s about time someone did,” he said, setting the binoculars down and reaching for his tools. “Though you’re in luck. It looks like it’ll be a quick fix. I’ll just remove the damaged lens, just in case it comes loose and causes any more trouble.”

James watched in silence as Q removed part of the outer casing and took to unscrewing the more delicate components. He lay them out side by side as he removed them, keeping them in order. James saw the exact moment Q got to the problem. His hands stilled suddenly, frozen in place. For a long moment, there was silence.

“James…” Q said quietly, and James desperately tried to read what he could hear in his voice. Q wasn’t entirely sure himself – he felt suddenly lightheaded, and it was a challenge to keep his hand steady as he gently removed what had been causing the anomaly.

A ring. Small, elegant, not distracting, but beautiful. Q held it gently in his pair of tweezers, trying to work up the courage to look up at James.

“What do you say?” James asked, and Q was certain now – those _were_ nerves he had been hearing, after all. The realisation gave him the courage to look up at him, feeling a smile already beginning to spread across his face. He knew he must look like a complete idiot, half asleep and grinning madly, but he didn’t care.

“Yes,” he said, and he wanted to say something more, but he didn’t trust his voice not to crack. It turned out he wouldn’t have had the chance to say anything else, anyway; James stepped closer and leaned over, catching Q by his tie and pulling him towards him, pressing their lips together. Q was still holding the ring between them; he reached up with his free hand and held it to James’s cheek, pulling back after a moment and leaning his forehead against James’s.

“Yes,” he said again, breathless, and James laughed, reaching down and taking the ring from between them.

“I’m glad,” he said, leaning back slightly and glancing down as he slipped the ring onto Q’s finger. “Oh, and you’ll be glad to know the binoculars aren’t actually damaged at all. Just so you know I didn’t trash your equipment to pull this stunt.”

Q laughed. “Well, that just seals the deal, doesn’t it?”


End file.
